Why bother?

[Frederik]

I think a big problem is the way people use the forums.Lotsa players seem to look on message boards for strategy before ever even really playing the game!Quit letting people do the work for you.Figuring out successful strategies is a very rewarding part of playing.

The strategy section depends very much on what game you are playing... Sure there are games where the most fun is finding a perfect path through the game (DDP, Gigawing) - but if you want to score seriously in Garegga or Bakraid for instance, you HAVE to know what to bomb where and what strategy is best suited for tearing bosses apart. If you have to figure out yourself that there IS a combo system in Bakraid (it isn`t visible, remember) you will be very frustated seeing your scores change dramatically in each run because you unknowingly triggered high chains. Or bombing the castle in Garegga with the flamingoes coming out which you have to bomb to get extends, keeping rank low, triggering extra bosses in Batrider - those are things only few people have the attention to figure out themselves. Speaking of it, I wonder who found these things out in the first place.

But I guess your point was more about, let`s say, NOT watching superplays of DDP Stage 1 and trying to copy it but finding it out yourself. DDP is a fine example of this; even better of course is Shikigami 2 since there`s no forced path but a more instinctive way of scoring.

Also,on a side note...ever since I saw that kid beat SMB3 in 11 minutes,I've been on a gaming tear!That video has inspired me so much.Thanx to whoever that kid is!!!!!!

I`ve seen this too - it`s tool-assited, meaning the run is manipulated via savestates, speed-down and general messing around with emulation. Those aren`t meant to show human skill but more for theoretical ways of beating a game maximized.

[Icarus]

Speaking of it, I wonder who found these things out in the first place.

Most of the information that I have on my Raizing-based strategy guides are from personal observation, discussion with other players, and from analysing superplays and my own captured replays for tricks and other bits of info. Score information isn't hard to figure out, and in the case of the older Raizing games, you can go into Service Mode and bring up a test screen which actually gives you point values of the targets in question. As for methodology to actually acquire these scoring targets, it's all a matter of trial and error.

Most of my written guides are based on observation and personal experience. The Garegga guide is a combination of all of the above, plus officially released information. Being able to cross-reference the official stuff and stuff from personal experience helps to write a more thorough guide. The forthcoming Ibara guide will be based on the same template of official data and personal experience.

I think a big problem is the way people use the forums.Lotsa players seem to look on message boards for strategy before ever even really playing the game!Quit letting people do the work for you.Figuring out successful strategies is a very rewarding part of playing.

Strategising in shmups is actually a lot harder than going into the strategy forum and reading from front to back a detailed thread of info and discussions. The guides written in there can give you a good first step, but to make full use of this information, you have to go and apply the info to your own style of play. Reading a guide is one thing, doing what the guide says properly, tailored to your own skills is another thing entirely.

[BulletMagnet]

If you have to figure out yourself that there IS a combo system in Bakraid (it isn`t visible, remember)...

Actually, in this case the game does at least give you a hint as to how the chaining system works, since a "x2," "x4," etc. will appear in the corner of the screen whenever you nail a couple of medium/large enemies in a row. I tend to at least partially agree on your larger point though, as I prefer having the "major" or "vital" information as to how a game works out in the open, rather than having to observe and guess before you can focus on refining. Not absolutely everything, but the "essentials," though of course people's opinions on what "essential" entails varies.

[fl0w]

Mechanisms and strategies are two different things.

I suggest a new type of topics: GM for Game Mechanisms. GMs would explain how the game works, eg. in ESP Galuda the green gems, ingots, kakusei, overmode... STs would then mean STrategy and be devoted to real strategies. Icarus' ST for Battle Garegga is a real ST, though it also describes the mechanisms in details. Triple Lei's site "Gunbird 2 for the rest of us" is another one. Both are excellent ^^

Therefore, it would be easier to maintain GMs (remember the mechanisms for some game are still not 100% understood) and different people could demonstrate their own strategies...

(OK, I must be honest, I write this post in the hope someone will rewrite a GM for galuda...)

[Twiddle]

That would be redundant as GD is for discussing such things, including strategies.